Sunday, January 29, 2006
Citrus County Florida Sheriff's traffic operation nets 180 stops
In an effort to curb aggressive driving, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office made 180 traffic stops on Friday.
Five three-member teams of deputies observed 10 intersections in the county from 7 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.
Each team had a deputy in plainclothes stationed at an intersection. That deputy radioed violations to the two other deputies who were in marked cars away from the intersection, who then made the traffic stops. The deputies found drugs in seven vehicles and made seven misdemeanor arrests, found three outstanding warrants and made one felony arrest. They issued 25 citations and 42 warnings for running red lights and distributed 151 pamphlets about running red lights and aggressive driving. One hundred seventeen additional warnings and 29 additional citations were issued.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Tierney said the traffic detail was a success.
"It put a serious dent in the problems at those intersections," Tierney said. "The numbers were pretty high, higher than we'd like to have, but in same breath, it is a legitimate way to face drivers who practice those kinds of habits." The teams started at U.S. 41 and Norvell Bryant Highway, State Road 44 and U.S. 41, SR 44 and County Road 491, U.S. 19 and Grover Cleveland Boulevard, and SR 44 and CR 486. If no violations were observed within a 60-minute period, the teams relocated to U.S. 41 and Croft Avenue, SR 44 and U.S. 41 (near Griff's Bar in Inverness), CR 491 and CR 486, U.S. 19 and CR 490, and U.S. 19 and Venable Street.
The teams targeted speeders, red light runners, tailgaters and drivers who weave in and out of traffic. The teams also used drug-sniffing canine units.
"Traffic complaints are the largest number of complaints to the sheriff's department and probably the biggest concern of citizens in the county," Tierney said. "Periodically, we try to do special details to attack driving under the influence or, in this case, aggressive driving. If nothing else, it at least makes law enforcement presence known and hopefully is an educational process for drivers here in the county."
© Copyright, St. Petersburg Times.
Labels: Florida
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